Editor’s Note
The Club Coach Playbook by Bill Jacky and Richard Hocknett mentions many benefits of service as a club coach. The coach will “learn how to conduct a strategic analysis, develop a workable strategic plan and effectively execute the plan.” This issue of Club Coach Weekly provides an excellent example of this approach. Our coaching appointments may last up to two years. However, the skills that we learn will be with us for a long time. We encourage you to view your coaching appointment as a wonderful opportunity to improve your communication and leadership skills.
Assessment
The Young Shepherds Club was a closed corporate lunch club for employees of the Bank of Montreal. It was one of three clubs in the Toronto area for the company. But this one was located out of the city centre, further north in an office building with- out a huge base of employees. For many years the club had thrived and was recognized as a distinguished club with many achievements both at the club and member level. They were also fortunate to have corporate support from the organization who generously paid members’ dues as long as they were active within the club. The economy had taken a toll on the corporation however and many employees were laid off and those who remained were forced to take on added responsibilities leaving them with little free time to enjoy and participate in Toastmasters.
When we arrived, the club had only six active members and the President had been a member for less than a year. The enthusiasm was there, but the members lacked knowledge and experience to rebuild. Some of the challenges they were experiencing was that they were a closed club and drawing members from within the organization was difficult. They also met bi-weekly, so if a member had to miss one meeting, they would miss a month and it was hard to build momentum. Finally, the executive committee didn’t know if the bank would continue to pay for their memberships and their dues had lapsed.
Planning and Implementation
We sat with the members and talked to them about their options and together, we wrote and action plan that would help guide us through the next few months. It was important to us that the executive play an active role in the rebuilding process and they were involved in the planning as well as the execution of the plan. Through our planning, we determined that our objective was to increase membership of the club and create and enthusiastic and dynamic group of members to advance the club. We also decided that were going to focus on three key strategies: promoting membership, gaining corporate support and hosting engaging, positive and high-quality meetings.
In each of those strategies, we broke it up into tasks, assigned responsibilities and a timeline. Within a few weeks, we had: Secured financial support from the Bank of Montreal
- Actively filled the agenda with guest speakers from other clubs
- Followed up with past members
- Hosted education sessions Arranged to meet weekly instead of bi- weekly
- Updated the by-laws to become an open club
Results
The single most impactful change was opening up the club membership. The club meets in a large corporate meeting and we were fortunate to con- nect with an education ambassador from another company who actively promoted it within their organization.
Shortly after the new year, just two months after we implemented our plan, we had 15 people attending meetings. Then, everything just fell into place – we had full meetings, old members started coming back, members were engaged by our guest speakers and education sessions and we were able to actively fill the agenda with keen, engaged members. Members worked hard and Young Shepherds Club became Distinguished by May 30, 2010. They have now elected a strong new executive committee with a mix of old and new members who are keen to see the club continue to thrive.
Lessons Learned
To be honest, it was difficult for me at first to not step in and do everything myself. So the biggest lesson I personally learned was delegating, nurturing and building capacity in others. When the members were involved in the process, not only did they get more out of it, the club was stronger for it. Written by Lindsay Satterthwaite, ACS, ALS.
A Letter of Praise
Hello Lindsay and Max, Please accept my congratulations for supporting the Young & Shepherds club to get distinguished and also for successfully achieving your Club Coach credit, in the process. I still remember our first meeting at the Y&S location, when I introduced both of you to the group. Out of the six persons in the audience, two were guests, simply confused about the purpose, wondering why they were missing their lunch break; two past Toastmasters were there just to enjoy the show and the remaining two were existing club officers with grave concern about being able to save their club. Of course, their concern was justified as they neither had six members for the October renewal nor the funds to pay, unless the corporation agreed. For many months the regular club meetings were attended by only 2 -3 members. And I introduced you: “Please help me welcome Lindsay and Max, two experienced Toastmasters who have agreed to attend your club meetings regularly and help the members in understanding the Toastmaster culture and protocols”. They clapped with more confused and disbelieving looks.You took over from their next meeting and soon they sent in the renewals. From that moment onwards the club started showing progress at a steady pace. By the year-end 2009-10, the Y&S club was distinguished, earning five DCP goals with 20+ enthusiastic members. That is the result of your dedication, patience and perseverance working individually with the members and helping the club overcome one obstacle after another. Based on my own experience, I like the analogy that being a club coach is like nurturing a baby, getting the pride and satisfaction in sup-porting, mentoring and watching it grow, and I am sure, you also must be feeling proud that when you attend the Y&S club meetings now, you find the members speaking up with gleam and hope replacing those confused looks full of despair. I consider that as the real accomplishment: making a positive difference in some one’s life. Certainly miraculous results can be achieved, if we maintain our commitment and confidence in the Toastmasters programs. Keep up the Great Work,
Best Regards, Virat Bhatt, DTM